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Leung appointed President and chief executive of scandal-hit USA Gymnastics

Scandal-hit USA Gymnastics (USAG) have announced the appointment of Li Li Leung as the organisation’s President and chief executive.

Leung is the latest appointment to the positions at USAG at the tumultuous time for the organisation, which faces a threat of decertification from the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).

USAG also filed for bankruptcy last yea following fallout from the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal.

Leung becomes the fourth President and chief executive of USA Gymnastics in the past two years.

Steve Penny resigned from the posts after 12 years in March 2017 after criticism of his handling of the Nassar scandal.

His replacement Kerry Perry served for nine months in the role before resigning over her handling of the case.

Mary Bono served just four days as interim President and chief executive last October following tweets by four-time Olympic champion Simone Biles and other gymnasts in which they questioned her appointment.

USA Gymnastics claim the appointment of former National Basketball Association (NBA) vice-president Leung was made following an extensive search by their Board.

They claim this involved surveying a wide range of members in the gymnastics community on the best qualifications and attributes for a candidate to be successful.

"Li Li’s unique combination of business skills, management experience and passion for gymnastics make her perfectly suited to lead our organisation at this important time in our history," Kathryn Carson, the USAG Board chair, said.

"She brings strong leadership, organisational and communication skills from her over two-decade professional career in sports business and management.

"She also has deep roots in gymnastics, having competed at a high level before moving to collegiate gymnastics.

"We are thrilled to have Li Li as our next president and chief executive, and the Board looks forward to supporting Li Li as she delivers her vision to transform and strengthen our organisation and culture."

USAG has struggled to emerge from the scandal involving former team doctor Nassar.

Nassar was sentenced to 175 years in prison last January having been found guilty of sexually abusing dozens of American gymnasts.

USAG filed for bankruptcy in a move which the embattled organisation said will enable it to "expeditiously resolve" the claims made by the survivors of sexual abuse.

An independent report published by law firm Ropes & Gray claimed both USOC and USAG had facilitated Nassar's abuse and had failed to act when the allegations against him emerged.

Senators have called on the Federal Bureau of Investigation to investigate.

Leung has stressed she will make it a priority to see that gymnasts claims are resolved as well as strengthen athlete health and safety measures.

"I am honoured to be the next chief of USA Gymnastics and to lead an organisation that plays an important role in a sport that I care deeply about and had so much positive influence on my life," said Leung.

"Like everyone, I was upset and angry to learn about the abuse and the institutions that let the athletes down.

"I admire the courage and strength of the survivors, and I will make it a priority to see that their claims are resolved.

"I look forward to collaborating with the entire gymnastics community to create further change going forward, which requires that we implement important initiatives to strengthen athlete health and safety and build a clear and inclusive plan for the future.

"For me, this is much more than a job: it is a personal calling, for which I stand ready to answer."

Leung will officially take up her role at USAG' headquarters in Indianapolis on March 8, following the conclusion of her responsibilities at the NBA.

At the NBA, Leung has been responsible for building, leading, negotiating and managing key partner relationships around the world.

USAG state she has been involved with USA Basketball.

Leung was previously a managing director at the global sports management firm Helios Partners, where she managed their China and London offices, overseeing the firm’s global expansion strategy in emerging markets in Europe and Asia Pacific regions.

Leung previously competed as a gymnast as several USAG events, becoming a member of a their junior national training team.

She represented the United States at the 1988 Junior Pan American Games.

She was a member of the University of Michigan gymnastics team, which won several Big 10 titles, and competed in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Championships during her four-years on the team.

She was a volunteer assistant gymnastics coach while earning two master’s degrees at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

About the author

Since joining insidethegames.biz in 2015, Michael Pavitt has covered a variety of international multi-sport events, including the Baku 2015 European Games, the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games, Sapporo 2017 Asian Winter Games and Taipei 2017 Summer Universiade. He also reported on the UCI Presidential election in Bergen in 2017, as well as attending the IOC Session in Lima and three ANOC General Assemblies.

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Fact of the day

At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Iranian judoka Arash Miresmaeili was disqualified for weighing in at nearly four pounds above the limit for his weight class of his under-66 kilograms match against an Israeli opponent Ehud Vaks in the first round. It was claimed Miresmaeili had gone on an eating binge to protest the International Olympic Committee's recognition of the state of Israel. Iran does not recognise the state of Israel, and Miresmaeili's actions won praise from high-ranking Iranian officials. Mohammad Khatami, the country's President at the time, was quoted as saying Miresmaili's actions would be "recorded in the history of Iranian glories". He was later awarded $125,000 by the Government - the same amount given to Olympic gold medallists.

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